I’m quite fond of classic black and white patterns. “Lately loving” has seen bold stripes so far and there’s more to come. This week we’re drawing inspiration from black and white buffalo check. Gingham, a name commonly associated with this pattern, refers to the cotton fabric used to make clothing or small house hold wares such as casual shirts and dresses, table cloths or napkins. Buffalo check (the actual name of the pattern), was named after the designer’s herd of buffalo, has been around since the late 1800’s and typically consists of two contrasting colours. Don’t let his classic pattern be pigeon holed into a cutesy, country theme as it is bold, graphic and positively current in design and fashion today.

Dating back to the 16th century it is safe to say the “Windsor chair” is a classic. It is unknown as to their official origin however some speculate they were named after the town of Windsor which became the centre for trading in the early 1700’s. Other names include stick-back or comb-back chairs, however the construction of all styles are similar. The seat is the integrity of the chair providing strength to both the legs and back, both are securely fastened into the thickness of the seat.It’s ability to meld into any environment, the Windsor chair provides comfort and a classic form available in an array of colours and stains. Suitable in a kitchen, a desk chair or a dining room, it’s casual elegance and simple lines make it an easy choice and one that will never go out of style. Image credits: House and Home l dezeen magazine l Domaine Home l Desire to Inspire l decorpad l facilisimo

There’s a new neutral in the world of faucets and it comes in a rich, dark and handsome colour while still maintaining a sense of elegance and simplicity. For years, oil rubbed bronze lead the pack however it’s taking a back seat. Black is in fashion and it’s more stylish than ever. The finish is matte, the look is modern, the price is worth it.

A few years ago we embarked on the renovation of two bathrooms for a client, the master ensuite and kids bathroom. Both rooms were tired and the spaces was under utilized. The projects were unfortunately stunted by the flood of 2013 as their flooded basement required priority attention.

A year later we picked up where we left off and the demolition began. Both transformations are dramatic with floor to ceiling, wall to wall edits and reorganization. The kids bathroom lacked function and style. We had height restrictions for their tall teenage boys and not enough storage for their teen daughter. There was a depth concern with the toilet and how close it was to the tub/shower and one sink for the three kids was causing sibling chaos.

Our goal was to create a light and airy, modern bathroom suitable for three teenagers. We removed the tub and swapped the shower for the vanity to provide more height as well as depth for the toilet. We created a privacy wall of frosted glass allowing light to still flow through the space. The vanity was made wider to accommodate two sinks and provide plenty of additional storage.The outcome is a light filled, spacious feeling bathroom. We used soft and subtle sea glass colours balanced by white and ivory, a fresh and calm approach to the often hectic time of getting ready in the morning. Here is the final result!

Nyla Free Designs Inc. is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.

Elho believes an enjoyable home is important for everyone. They specialize in design savvy plastic planters with a modern approach and colourful selection. Based in the Netherlands with a global appeal, these planters come in a vast array of shapes and sizes, suitable for indoors and out. One might not expect to find the likes of these planters at a big box retailer such as Canadian Tire, however because my husband has an outside the “big box” way of thinking, his location in Calgary, on Macleod Trail South, is pushing the envelope of what you would normally expect to see in their aisles. They have many in stock, ready to take home and transform your yard, however special orders are also available. Because these planters weather all four seasons, you can get creative with everything from summer gardening right through to outdoor planters for the holidays. Here’s just a small sample of the look of elho.

Nyla Free Designs Inc. is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contact page to get in touch.

Nyla Free Designs Inc. also offers an online design service to Canadian clients through Design in a Box.

MODERN. I’m not referring to the dictionary meaning but rather the feeling, the emotion or the lifestyle of a Modern interior. Vintage, retro, mid-century, classic, country. These have all been paired with the word Modern. This week I am exploring what Modern means with four people I admire and would love to introduce you to or if you already know them, for you to get to know them better.

Fabulous opportunities have come about for Michelle in the last year and it’s no surprise. Her blog, Holley & Gillradiates with eloquent writing and gorgeous images and what I love best is that she causes you to think and ponder thoughts on design and it’s processes. Michelle is so aware of the design world in all it’s shapes and forms and truly passionate about every single detail. Holley & Gill began as custom headboards designed by Michelle and hand crafted in Montreal. Michelle is a blog contributor for Poppy Talk and HGTV Canada and has most recently become Style Editor for Pure Green Magazine. Congratulations on all your success this year Michelle! and thank you for sharing your thoughts today.

“What is modern to me?”

In the world of iconic furniture, products and interiors, the hardest part of the design process is not the creative stage but in fact, the editing stage.

To me, modern is a complete design which has already done all the editing for us. It has visited the extremes, has been inspired by it all and left us with the most important and integral lines, shapes and surfaces. All together, it has managed to push all limits and beliefs to evoke entirely new emotions from its viewers unlike any others.

Modern by definition also means that it is ahead of its time. So a few other questions come to mind: Is it still considered modern once inspiration is drawn from it and morphed into something new? If a variation or a new take has been developed, does its label as being modern no longer apply?

If an innovative design stands the test of time, keeps challenging those limits and its audience and remains captivating, then regardless of when it came to be, it will always remain relevant and modern in my eyes.

Thank you Nyla for letting me in on such a great discussion and topic!

Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See thecontactpage to get in touch.

Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service throughDesign in a Box.

MODERN. I’m not referring to the dictionary meaning but rather the feeling, the emotion or the lifestyle of a Modern interior. Vintage, retro, mid-century, classic, country. These have all been paired with the word Modern. This week I am exploring what Modern means with four people I admire and would love to introduce you to or if you already know them, for you to get to know them better.

Lori Andrews, a.k.a. the 10 cent Designer is creative is all aspects of the word. Lori is an Interior Designer and photographer not to mention she is always up for an adventure. Her approach to design is simple, modern, and clean with a functional and stylish perspective. Lori and I have recently started working together on photographing my spaces for Dabble Mag and I think we are complimenting each other nicely. She brings a fashion forward flavor to each photo shoot. Here is what Modern means to Lori ~

mod·ern
Of or relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past.

Modern to me is new forms and old forms re-imagined. Modern is reused, recycled, rethought. modern is clean and simple, light and colorful. Modern is sustainable. Modern is affordable.

New Forms

Retro with New Materials

Reuse Re-Imagine

Repetition

Handcrafted

Artistic Handmade

Colour gives doors new life.

Light and Simple

Old forms New colours

Space age materials

10 cent Designer

All images courtesy of Lori Andrews.

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See thecontactpage to get in touch.

Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service throughDesign in a Box.

MODERN. I’m not referring to the dictionary meaning but rather the feeling, the emotion or the lifestyle of a Modern interior. Vintage, retro, mid-century, classic, country. These have all been paired with the word Modern. This week I am exploring what Modern means with four people I admire and would love to introduce you to or if you already know them, for you to get to know them better.

An Interior Designer, collaborator, and someone who brings people together in a positive and creative way, Lisa Fergusoninspires me with her daily encouragement and insights all the way from Toronto. Recently founding Decor Mentor, Lisa is on the pulse of the design world and works hard to educate readers about the process and practices of Interior Design. I have had the pleasure of meeting Lisa a few times this year and more recently collaborating with her as one of the mentors over at Decor Mentor.

Thank you for sharing with us Lisa!

What is Modern Design?

If I said “ Modern Design”. What images and descriptors would immediately be brought to your mind? Mid Century Modern? Minimalism? Cold? Uncomfortable? Clean Lines?

Wikepedia describes moderism in architecture as “simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building”.

When I think of modern design, these are the first four words that come to my mind.

Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See the contactpage to get in touch.

Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service throughDesign in a Box.

MODERN. I’m not referring to the dictionary meaning but rather the feeling, the emotion or the lifestyle of a Modern interior. Vintage, retro, mid-century, classic, country. These have all been paired with the word Modern. This week I am exploring what Modern means with four people I admire and would love to introduce you to or if you already know them, for you to get to know them better.

I am so thrilled to introduce you to my guest blogger today. Fiona Richards is the creative personality behind Cartolina Cards, a stationary line with vintage appeal and worldly curiosities. Her cards are some of the most interesting and creative designs I have ever seen and since I have a slight obsession for paper goods… I have seen a lot! I look forward to the opportunity of one day meeting Fiona in person as I admire her very much for her business savvy, creativity, talent and genuine sense of style and self. If you haven’t stopped by Cafe Cartolina yet, please do. It’s a fabulous blog showcasing influences and inspirations behind her work. Also, you must know about Cartolina’s iPhone App. It is one of the coolest app’s out there!

When Nyla asked, “What does Modern mean to you, Fiona?” It took me a while to get my head around it because I really enjoy vintage.

I’m not a trend follower at all, so to me, it’s always been about the vibe and the lifestyle than the status or the designer.

I grew up in the UK in the 70s and, while all my friends lived in cookie cutter tract houses filled with the standard matching 3 piece suite of the day, I grew up in my grandparents house filled to the brim with exotic treasures that they had collected from their days as textile traders in India. And it rubbed off on me – I’ve never had a modern house and really never collected modern pieces. To me modern is all about being free to live in unusual spaces and surround yourself with unusual things – things collected over time and the newer things coveted and acquired more recently. Having the confidence to say ‘this is my unique eclectic place and these are my fabulous, curious things.’

We live in the country so I tend towards the rustic. Give me old wood, stone and iron, industrial salvage and vintage fixtures. Mix them up and change them on a weekly basis. Gone are the decorating restrictions of the past – and what we have is more interesting, more personal and, in my mind, more modern!

What does Modern mean to you? We would love to hear what you have to say!

Nyla Free Designs is a full service Calgary Interior Design studio. Our goal is to bring your home to life by revealing your style and infusing unexpected elements of design and detail. If we can help with your project please let us know! See thecontactpage to get in touch.

Nyla Free Designs also offers an online design service throughDesign in a Box.

If you’re new to my blog, I’d like to introduce you to Free Design Notes. It’s a post that will let you see inside my design brain and how I look at images. Designers are notorious for jotting down notes on tear sheets that they like in an effort to keep and use for inspiration later on. I decided to share my favorites with you each Monday, so I hope you’ll stop by each week to see inspiring images and visions of Nyla Free Designs. Feel ‘free’ to offer any other thoughts that you might have about the image. We all have different eyes so share away!

To elaborate further, I love how this image mixes old and new, traditional and modern ~ which is a concept I love to incorporate into my designs.

I’ve spent years admiring magazines and the designers whose work appears on those glossy pages. Magazines are a major source of inspiration for both myself and my clients. I love seeing all the impressive talent out there in all styles and from so many cities and countries. Working on the interior of a home designed by Jeremy Sturgess was incredible, so when I heard that it was going to be featured in Western Living magazine, you can only imagine my excitement. Thrilled to say the least!

I was able to be involved in the photo shoot which was an amazing experience in and of itself. I appreciate magazines so much more now, seeing first hand all the time and effort that goes into capturing that perfect shot. The photographer, Martin Tessler was exceptional. Stylist Edward Tsang was so energetic and respectful of the design of the home. The day was long, however I enjoyed every minute.

Through renovations, re-decorations and a cottage in Ontario, I have had the pleasure of working with this particular client for over 10 years. We have a great relationship and I love working with them. They are open, trusting and have been extremely supportive of my growing business.

I also just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you.

Thank you to all those who have cheered for me, congratulated me and been an incredible amount of support. I so appreciate all of the enthusiasm surrounding my first big feature!

Here is the article as it appears in the May 2010 issue of Western Living ~ I hope you enjoy!